Ender's Game: Roar
by Michael C Holman
Summary: A sequel to the movie. The nightmare that tortures Ender's mind keeps him from sleep. He returns to earth, knowing that if he tries to make a new home for the Formics the International Fleet will wipe them out again. To atone for Genocide, he has to gather Dragon Army and do the unthinkable: he has to expose and destroy Graff, Rackham, and the Strategos- the high command of the IF.
1. The Wilds

Note: I have read the book, but this is inspired strictly from the movie. Enjoy!

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The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Ezekiel 25:17

Ender Wiggin hadn't slept in three days. He shivered in the dark silence. Stared out of the cockpit viewport at the open voids. But he couldn't stop them. Even in this sea of silent hyper-awareness that beat like poison in his blood, the visions flashed across his eyes like fireworks over the infinite backdrop of space.

He clenched his bloodshot eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Another spasm of terror tore through him like a searing kiss from hot metal.

_The ring of fire consumed, spreading wider and wider like a great mouth swallowing everything._

_ The horror crushed his heart as he lost all balance, all sight, brushing through the crowd as the floor threatened to leave his feet._

He opened his eyes again. He steeled his mind, closing it like the lid of Pandora's box.

He stood alone again in the cockpit of his small silver vessel, silence closed in on him like a coffin. The lights from the HUD winked. Ahead of him was nothing. To his left was nothing. To his right – nothing.

And behind him, stowed safely in a box in the cargo hold, sat the egg. The last Queen. The last hope of life.

He tried to keep his eyes open. He swallowed mightily and tried to calm his breathing. It didn't work. Nothing worked. His heart wouldn't slow down. The rivers of prickling fire wouldn't stop racing down his skin.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down the tip of his nose.

A question reached his mind. A foreign thought, wondering what was going to happen next.

"Not now," He whispered. "I can't- please, not now."

It faded.

He strangled a yelp as it threatened to rise from his belly and choke him – a nightmare flashed again and his stomach convulsed.

_"You said it was only a game!"_

He noticed the collar of his uniform sticking to his skin, wet from his sweat.

When he opened his eyes again he stumbled forward, desperately throwing himself into the captain's chair and fumbling for the control monitor. With shaking hands, he activated it and tapped his fingers on the screen, opening a menu.

Destination Coordinates: [ _ - _ - _ ]

Ender paused for a moment, the cursor blinking at him, then opened the keypad and entered three numbers:

00-00-00

The computer automatically acknowledged his input.

Destination Coordinates: [ 00 - 00 - 00 ]

Confirm Destination?

YES NO

He pressed 'YES.' The engines immediately activated, humming and rising to a roar, and the ship spun up and to the left, adjustment nozzles hissing as it righted itself in space. The drives engaged, and the ship shot forward so fast the stars blazed past like missiles.

Ender felt nothing – there was no acceleration. He leaned back against his seat, letting the streaks of the flashing stars draw lines on his tired vision.

Coordinates 00-00-00.

Earth.

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The doorbell buzzed as he depressed it with his finger. The sun shone on his shoulders, filtering through the trees as they waved in the gentle wind, casting pleasant shadows over the grass. A tiny suitcase sat by his ankle. Ender kept his eyes fixed on the holovid as the screen appeared, giving him a view of the inside hallway.

Valentine's face appeared. Her deep brown hair was longer than when he had last seen it. Her stormy blue eyes flashed wide in surprise.

"Ender!" She shouted, and flashed out of view. The Holovid disappeared. Footsteps clattered closer to the door and the door flew open.

"Ender!" she cried again, throwing her arms around him. A brief smile reached the corner of Ender's lips as he encircled his arms around her back.

"Oh, Ender I got your message – I was so worried you wouldn't come back. Where have you been?"

She finally pulled away, resting her hands on his shoulders and watching his eyes earnestly. He stared back, narrowing his slightly, watching her.

"I've… just been busy," he murmured at last.

Her happiness faded slightly from her face, but then she grabbed his arm.

"Please – come in."

By now all of this commotion had summoned the rest of the family. Mother showered him with hugs and kisses, practically smothering him, and Father praised him with such affection that Ender dimly remembered that only a year ago he would have paid a fortune to hear those words. All the while Peter, who had grown even taller and more muscular in Ender's absence, leaned carelessly against the wall of the hallway, watching him.

Mother finally let him go and Ender met Peter's eyes.

"We heard all the details about the third invasion," he drawled. "Nice move."

Ender paused, his eyes narrowing.

"What do you mean, 'third invasion?'" He asked.

"We heard all about it," Father said, his Polish accent as thick as Ender remembered it. "How the Bugs launched another invasion into our space, but you- you went behind them took them by surprise. You wiped out their entire fleet!"

"Like I said, nice," said Peter. "Stole that one from Hannibal, right?"

Ender didn't speak. He just stared. Surrender… that's what they decided to call it. But - of course they wouldn't release the real story. He should have seen it coming. He shook his head – where had his mind gone?

"Are you okay?" Valentine asked, frowning at him, her brow creased with worry.

"I'm fine," Ender said dully. He gestured to his suitcase. "Can I take this to my room?"

They all fell silent, watching him.

"Oh – um… sure. Of course, Andrew," said Mom, giving him a small, quivering smile. Ender nodded, expressionless, picked up his bag, and strode past them to his room.

It was untouched – everything sat in the exact spot at which he had left it a year ago. He glanced around for a moment, noting that someone had at least dusted in here, then placed the suitcase on his bed.

A soft footstep on the carpet behind him. Too quiet.

"So, how does it feel," a low voice breathed in his ear, 'To be the _hero?_"

Ender whirled and slammed his grip over Peter's throat, crushing his windpipe in his fingers and driving him backwards, slamming his head into the wall. The wall shuddered and a picture frame fell from its hook with a crack. Ender looked straight into Peter's eyes, nose touching his, a blaze of fury with such power and strength coursing through him that that he felt the strength to kill surging in his hands.

Peter stood frozen in Ender's grasp, his eyes wide and focused, looking unflinchingly back. Then they widened further and he took in a labored gasp. It was as though he was seeing Ender for the first time.

"What was that?" Valentine's muffled voice came from the hall. Ender loosened his grip and lowered his hand. Red marks lined Peter's throat where his fingers had cut into the skin. Valentine appeared outside the door and opened it. Her eyes immediately flashed upon the scene, looking back and forth between them. Ender saw – she knew exactly what had happened as surely as though she had seen it herself.

"Ender?" she asked quietly. Ender and Peter's eye contact hadn't broken. And Ender realized that something had changed – his vision had blurred. Then it cleared as tears spilled down his cheeks.

"What did they do to you?" Peter breathed.

They were silent. Ender turned away and moved back to his suitcase, keeping Peter in his line of sight. Peter and Valentine stayed still as statues, watching him. Ender swallowed and looked down. He tried not to close his eyes. His heart slammed in his chest and refused to calm. His fingers shook as he tried to undo the clasps of his luggage.

"They lied," Valentine murmured. "I knew it."

Ender looked up at them.

"Your poker face sucks," Peter sniped softly, folding his arms across his chest.

Ender's jaw trembled.

"Is it almost suppertime?" He managed, his voice quivering.

"Um… yeah. It'll be – yeah, in a bit," said Valentine. She looked at Peter and touched his arm. "Come on, Peter."

Peter narrowed his eyes, studying Ender, then turned and left the room, Valentine behind him.

Silence reigned.

Ender sank onto his bed, the covers rustling. He ran his hand across them, their touch stirring old memories under his skin.

Another tear fell and made a damp spot on the starched fabric of his grey trousers.

His family was like strangers. Be it in the chasm of infinite space, or in the arms of his sister, always he carried this immortal hell:

Always- always he stood alone.

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After an intolerably long supper in which Ender dutifully answered every question they asked him – except for what really happened – he excused himself to bed, claiming that traveling had worn him out. Their concerned gazes burned into his back as he left. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore them.

When the long night had finally begun, Ender lay in his bed, staring up at the blank ceiling – he had taken down the mobile of the Formic spaceship that he had made when he was young and hidden it in his closet. Then, for good measure, he took down everything off of his walls – his models of Mazer's plane, all of his models and toys, all of the posters of propaganda from the IF that he had once hung for inspiration.

His door opened. Ender closed his eyes and slowed his breathing pattern. The footsteps slipped across the carpet – too soft.

Peter.

"I know you're awake."

Ender opened his eyes. Peter stared down at him. His expression was hidden in shadow.

"I killed someone at battle school," said Ender, surprised at how dull and flat his voice sounded. "He tried to beat me up when I was naked in the shower." He meant it as a warning, but Peter just replied:

"Serves him right. Terrible choice of location."

He slowly knelt by the bedside. Ender sat up on his elbow. So, Peter wasn't here to get revenge after all. Maybe.

"Tell me," Peter murmured, his eyes narrow. "Tell me what really happened."

Ender's throat closed. His nose wrinkled.

"Don't pretend," he whispered.

"Ender, talk," Peter asked again. "I'll understand."

Ender threw his covers off and put his feet on the ground.

"No matter how violent you were," Ender snarled, "or how cruel, or vicious, You have no _idea_, no _ability_ to comprehend what I've been through. You know nothing! You just find me _intriguing_ because I know something you don't!"

Peter closed his eyes and let out a low sigh through his nose.

"Maybe you'll see, one day, Ender." He got to his feet again and looked down at him. "Maybe you'll see me. I hope you can."

And Peter turned and left the room.

Ender sat motionless on the edge of his bed for the rest of the night, holding back the river of nightmares with a dam of wet clay.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. Please review! It's what keeps me going – even if you just say 'I liked it,' I ALWAYS make sure to answer every single one personally!

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	2. Noctum

Sorry for the long wait! I was submitting my application for film school – I'm going to get my MFA in Movie Directing! As a reward for the long wait, here's an extra long chapter!

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"Where is the horse and the rider?

Where is the horn that was blowing?

They have passed like rain on the mountains.

Like wind in the meadow.

The days have gone down in the west. Behind the hills, into shadow.

How did it come to this?"

-The Lord of the Rings

From: Col. Hyram Graff

To: Adm. Ender Wiggin

Bonzo Madrid is dead.

Funeral on 03-23 at 1900

Cementerio de la Costa

Cartagena, Spain

Ender squeezed the sides of his tablet so hard the plastic creaked in protest. He stared at the message until the words burned into his eyes.

_So clever, Colonel._

Opening an unhealed wound. Driving another pin into the doll. Trying to break him.

But no tears came. No shadow crossed his expression. A shiver passed through his insides and an old and terrible sensation filled up his heart.

Rage.

And it burned as cold as black ice.

That very morning, he said his goodbyes to Valentine and his family, and took to the stars.

Just for a short while, the silence of space enveloped him again as he piloted the personal ship he had appropriated from the base into a tight orbital trajectory. The earth curved away beneath him, shining like the brightest of multicolored jewels. The oceans glittered in the distant sunlight, the land seeming to shimmer with its vibrancy.

Such a familiar sight. Ender had seen it countless times. But the silence and utter, glorious beauty stole his heart with every gaze. And there in the distance, hovering in the blackness above the glow of the atmosphere, he could even see the school itself, so miniscule in comparison to the titanic size of its homeworld. Ender looked away and brought the ship back down out of orbit – it didn't take long in space to cross a thousand miles.

The twenty-third was two days away. And if no one else, he wanted her at his side.

The ship descended through the atmosphere in a blaze of fire, the viewscreen dimming to shield his eyes. Finally, he broke into the blue skies and passed through the clouds. A massive urban sprawl spread below him, and at its edge there lay a segment of total order among the disorganized structure – aligned in perfect longitude and latitude design.

Soon a voice greeted him on the military channel and guided him in to land. Ender allowed the computer to do most of the work, and exited the cockpit as soon as his craft touched down. He activated the landing ramp and a blast of sharp mountain air surged into the ship as the ship's pressure seal was broken and the ramp descended. He strode down the ramp, looking down at whoever was here to welcome him – he had made sure, even though every ounce of him wanted to tear it off and never look at it again, to wear his military uniform. A single ensign saluted him as he stepped onto the tarmac.

"Keep my ship here. I'll only be here for a day at most."

"Yes sir," the ensign replied stiffly. The ensign kept flicking his eyes to Ender's and then looking away, and his hands quivered slightly.

Ender requested transportation and a car labeled with the insignia of the IF was waiting for him as he exited the main doors of the base. As he lowered himself into the backseat and told the driver where he was going, it struck him as odd that even after all he had done, he was still considered too young to drive.

He stared out the window as the car took a path through mountains blanketed with waving evergreens, following the same path as a swirling, boulder-filled river that coursed alongside the road to their right. After an hour's journey, the sun had risen to its zenith in the sky, looking somehow harsher than he was used to.

Finally the car exited the mountains and came to a city that hugged the foothills like buildings on a coastline. He watched through the tinted windows as the bustle of people strode through their lives on either side of the street – going shopping; having lunch.

How foreign it all seemed.

The driver took him to a residential area, where large white houses and manicured lawns lined the road and short trees dotted the lawns. A boy no older than Ender skateboarded down the sidewalk, headphones in his ears. A father and his daughter played catch with a softball in their front yard.

The car slowed and pulled into a house just like all the others in the neighborhood, with cream-colored siding and brown brick foundation. A two-car garage stood in front, with a recessed front entrance to the left side of it. Ender ordered the driver to wait, and he opened the car door and stepped out onto the pavement.

A strange sense of detachment came over him as he strode up to the front door and rang the bell. But he didn't have time to dwell on it – in a few moments a figure moved behind the shadowed panes of glass and the latch clicked.

The door opened and there she stood, staring at him with wide eyes. Her brown hair flicked to the side in an errant breeze, shining in the light of the sun.

Petra.

"Ender!" she burst out. Ender smiled.

"Petra."

She stepped off the threshold and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.

"What were you thinking? Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded heatedly, shaking him with each question, then threw her arms around him and crushed him to her chest. Ender lowered his head into her shoulder and closed his eyes, swiftly wrapping his arms around her back and squeezing her just as tightly.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "But I'm back."

She let him go and met his eyes, staring daggers at him.

"Don't you _ever_ disappear like that again. Not without telling us where you're going."

Ender nodded.

"I promise."

She watched him for a moment, then nodded in return. She looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow.

"You still wear that uniform?"

"I see that you don't," Ender replied, eyeing her white t-shirt and jeans. Petra snorted.

"They offered to promote me to Commander; I told them to shove it and I resigned." She waved a hand towards the open door. "Come on in."

She led him into a living room area, with soft carpet, plush sofa and chairs surrounding a holovid display and large windows streaming in sunlight.

"My parents are out right now, so it's just us," said Petra. She gestured at the sofa. "Have a seat."

"Thanks," said Ender, and lowered himself onto the cushions. The couch seemed to invite him to lean back and sink into it, but Ender kept his spine straight. He watched Petra's face as she sat in one of the chairs.

"Did you hear about Bonzo?" Ender asked.

Petra frowned.

"No I didn't. What about him? Did he wake up?"

"He's dead."

Petra took in a breath. She didn't speak for a long moment.

"Ender, I'm so sorry," she said softly.

Ender shook his head and looked at the carpet.

"The funeral is Friday."

Petra sat up straight, looking at him askance.

"You're… going?"

"Would you come with me, please?"

Petra's brow furrowed as she watched him for a moment, her eyes narrow. Finally, she nodded.

"Where is it?

Ender let out a breath.

"Cartagena."

"Cartagena, _Spain_?" Petra confirmed.

Ender nodded.

"How exactly are we going to get there?" she asked.

Ender allowed himself a small smile.

"Well… my rank has its perks."

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Ender left Petra's as though a great weight had been taken from his chest. And a ball had begun to roll inside his mind. Petra hadn't referred to herself – she had referred to 'us.' She was right. Relief coursed through him as he realized that others had seen his visions as well. Others had been betrayed.

And others would be ready to follow him again.

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Ender strode through the halls of West Point, accompanied by the Academy Administrator. Since… since what happened had happened, the IF had abandoned their forward command school on Eros and transferred the students to other academies on, or nearer to, Earth.

His footsteps, and the footsteps of the cadet that guided him, echoed down the long, empty hallway. The hallway extended a hundred yards in either direction, doorways to classrooms on either side. Ender kept his eyes ahead, letting the cadet lead. The cadet finally stopped and gestured deliberately at a classroom door marked 217A.

"He's in there, sir."

Ender nodded.

"Thank you. I can find my own way back."

"Sir, I would not recommend-"

"Dismissed," Ender said firmly, giving him a piercing look. The cadet blinked, then saluted and walked back the way they came, his fading footsteps echoing like dripping water in a cave.

Ender paused for a moment to gather himself, then grasped the handle and pulled the classroom door open.

The room beyond was small, with a table lining each wall, leaving a space in the center. Students of varying ages sat facing inward, dressed in simple grey uniforms, monitors and keyboards sitting in front of them currently displaying a complex maneuver diagram of orange arrows and various colored dots. The instructor, a tall, balding, thin man, stood in the center of the room, pointing at a hovering holovid diagram that matched the display on the students' screens.

All heads turned to him as he stood framed in the doorway. The teacher paused in mid sentence and fixed him with a stern look.

"Excuse me, we are in the middle of-"

"Ten-hut!"

Bean, who until that moment Ender had been unable to spot, shot to his feet amongst the students as he shouted the command. Immediately all of the other students jumped out of their chairs and snapped to attention. Ender smiled briefly. They probably only did it out of reflex.

The instructor whirled to Bean, now dwarfed by the older classmates on either side of him, with a look of outrage.

"Mister Delphiki!" he bellowed. Ender blinked. Delphiki? He'd never heard Bean's real name – even his uniform at battle school had been labeled with his nickname. "What is the meaning of this interruption?"

But bean didn't even look at him. His eyes remained fixed on Ender.

"_Fallaces sunt rerum species_, sir," He answered, a flicker of a smile touching a corner of his mouth.

"Why have you seen fit to disrupt my classroom?" the instructor shouted back.

"I apologize for the interruption," said Ender, lifting his chin and stepping into the room. "I'm Admiral Ender Wiggin."

All the blood drained out of the instructor's face. The silence of Ender's words hung in the air. The instructor slowly turned to face him. The other students' eyes flicked to Ender and widened, but none dared to fall out of their attention pose.

The instructor scanned Ender's uniform for a moment and spotted the four silver stars on Ender's collar, then finally came, himself, to attention and saluted him.

"My apologies sir," he said in a low voice. "What can I do for you?"

"I would appreciate it if I could borrow Mr. …Delphiki for a moment."

Bean rolled his eyes.

"Of course, sir," the instructor said.

Ender nodded.

"I'll have him back shortly."

"Yes sir."

Bean slid past the other students and strode past Ender out the door. Ender turned and followed, closing and latching the door behind him. Bean spun to face him, and his face lit up with a warm smile.

"Ho, Ender."

"Ho, Bean," Ender replied with a grin.

They fell in side by side, adopting an idle pace down the vacant hall. Ender looked down at the floor as he walked, hands clasped behind his back.

"So… Mr. Delphiki?"

Bean snorted.

"I hate that stupid name."

"I can see why – Bean fits you better," Ender chuckled.

"Graff encouraged my nickname, but guess that's not the way they do things here at the Point," Bean huffed. He turned and looked at Ender as they walked.

"I had heard you had gone off the grid. Why are you here?"

Ender's stride paused. Bean stopped. Ender closed his eyes for a moment.

"I need your help."

Bean seemed to swell a size.

"Anything," he said immediately.

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The evening sun burned into Ender's eyes as the horse-drawn limber and caisson pulled closer. The horse's head bobbed with its steps, hooves clopping on the dirt path that wound through the white headstones. On either side of the limber stepped four men in IF uniform, each footfall deliberate and precise, and behind them trailed three more, armed with black laser rifles. The setting sun burned red on the horizon, minutes from kissing the edge of the ocean. A restless breeze wafted from the waters and ruffled the fringe of a red canopy that stood guard over an open grave.

The horse drew near and turned with the path, revealing the cargo laid upon the limber: a coffin, swathed in a blue flag emblazoned with the crest of the International Fleet.

Ender sat motionless on his plastic folding chair. Petra sat on his left, Bean on his right. Further down the row were Alai, Dink, and Bernard, all here at Ender's invitation. Petra held his hand, fingers entwined with his, but somehow he couldn't feel it. He couldn't breathe.

The silence of the coffin screamed at him.

Over a hundred others had gathered in these uncomfortable chairs, sitting in perfect lines. An aisle dividing them, pointing to the canopy; to the perfectly rectangular hole in the ground.

Ender could hear a woman crying in the front row, wearing a black dress and a veil. A man with graying black hair sat stiffly beside her.

The men on either side of the limber bearing Bonzo's casket lifted it as one, silently bringing it back off of the limber with practiced stillness. Then, with choreographed steps, they carried it to the canopy.

All eyes followed it in unison as the shadow fell over it.

They laid the coffin on a metal stand to the side of the grave, then gently pulled the corners of the flag until it sprung tight, hovering over the coffin. Keeping it taut, the four soldiers stepped to one side and began to fold it with practiced perfection, first in half lengthwise, then in half again, then folding an overlapping triangle until it had become a tight diamond.

One of the solders took the flag, holding it on top and bottom, and bent at the waist and presented it to the man seated beside the weeping woman. Ender swallowed, understanding. They were Bonzo's parents.

"Mr. Madrid, in honor of your son's service to the International Fleet, we present you with this flag."

Bonzo's father slowly took it and put it in his lap. Bonzo's mother couldn't hold it in anymore – she burst into loud wails that gouged into Ender's skin like rusted nails. A wave of nausea overtook him and he shifted in his chair. Petra looked to him, gripping his hand tightly. Her eyes glistened.

The soldiers who folded the flag turned their backs on the crowd and faced Bonzo's coffin.

"Ten-hut!" They shouted.

Ender stood, immediately followed by Dink, Alai, Bean, Bernard, and Petra. Several other uniformed men and women also rose. Ender whipped his hand to his forehead in salute, and everyone followed suit, including Petra – even though she no longer wore a uniform.

In the distance by the caisson, the three men with rifles brought them swiftly to their shoulders, aiming forty-five degrees up to the sky.

"Fire!" Someone called.

A scream of pressure exploded against their ears as bolts of light rocketed from the barrels and flashed up to the heavens like comets.

"Fire!"

Three streaks of light blazed to the sky again.

"Fire!"

The final triad sprang from the bullets and jetted skyward. The men lowered their guns.

A roar grew in the distance behind them. Ender's vision blurred as he turned around to face the noise, and tears spilled down his cheeks. Three fighers, their engines glowing a piercing blue, rocketed toward them. The roar grew to a deafening blast as they passed straight overhead, and then the middle fighter pulled up and zoomed skyward, abandoning the other two ships to their course.

The roar of the engines slowly fell away, echoing across the waters like rolling thunder. The soldiers left, leading the horse in a circle and coming back the way they had come. Bonzo's mother hadn't stopped crying. Her weeping and the clops of the retreating horse's hooves were the only sounds that broke the silence through the errant wind. Everyone else rose, too, and a quiet muttering began between the gathered people. Ender let go of Petra's hand and left the row, walking up the aisle.

Ender's mind seemed to deepen into a trance. The corners of his vision hazed into black as he approached the coffin.

He stopped when the ground ended. The six-foot chasm of waiting surrender separated him from the wooden tomb on the stand. He reached out a futile hand, then let it drop. Another tear rolled down his cheek and he took a shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Ender lowered his head and turned, and found someone standing in his way.

"You are Admiral Wiggin?"

Ender raised his gaze and found himself looking up into a man's face – a pronounced nose, thin, elegant eyebrows, and short-cut salt and pepper graying hair. His eyes were swollen and red. They narrowed.

"I wish to make… apology," he said in a low voice, his accent thick and heavy. "You fought with honor… my son did not."

Ender swallowed, sustaining his gaze. Everyone else in the funeral gathering had frozen behind Bonzo's father, watching them.

Finally, Ender lowered his head.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder.

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Thanks so much for reading! I've got all my applications done, so now I have nothing stealing my attention away from continuing this journey. Please review! I absolutely love hearing from all of my readers!

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	3. Dragon

See? I told you I'd update faster! Thanks for all of your lovely responses! I treasure each one. Now, on with the story!

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_The Dark Lord has Nine. But we have One, mightier than they: the White Rider. _

_He has passed through the fire and the abyss, and they shall fear him. _

_We will go where he leads._

-The Lord of the Rings

The autopilot chirped, indicating that their chosen trajectory and speed had been reached. Ender sat back in the pilot's chair, tracing his eyes along the curve of the earth as the ocean passed underneath them.

Behind him, in the rear of the ship, Petra, Dink, Alai, Bean, and Bernard sat and quietly talked. Enough space separated him from them that their voices faded to a pleasant murmur. Ender closed his eyes, sinking into the rhythm of their tones. A thrill of fatigue closed over him and he wondered if he might sleep – but then footsteps approached, clacking on the plated metal of the ship's floor. Ender opened his eyes.

Alai sat down in the copilot's chair, folding his hands in his lap and watching out the viewport for a moment. He turned to Ender and gave him a warm smile that softened his dark eyes.

"Hey, Ender."

"Alai," Ender replied.

"Thank you for inviting us," said Alai, looking back to the stars again. "It was a good funeral."

Ender huffed through his nose, glancing down. Alai remained silent for a moment.

"What next?" Alai finally wondered, raising an eyebrow and nodding towards the cockpit window. "I see that we have already passed by New York, and you never make mistakes, so you obviously aren't dropping Bean off. Or any of us."

Alai leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his knees and locking his eyes on Ender. "Where are we going?"

Ender met Alai's watchful look for a moment longer, then faced forward again and tapped a button on the control screen to activate the descent sequence. The engines hummed and the ship angled down, filling their viewscreen with a brilliant vista of the planet.

"Somewhere safe," he answered.

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They hiked in silence. Ender led them on the same path he'd trod every day for two weeks on his leave from battle school, between the house where Bonzo had lain and the lake. Rustling trees marched tightly on either side of the path, forcing them to duck under outstretched branches. The wind, cold off the lake, drifted through the flickering leaves and caressed Ender's face, ruffling his hair.

When they had arrived, Ender had accessed the house and everyone who still wore a uniform changed into what spare clothing they could find inside – t-shirts, jeans, sweatpants. Tennis shoes. None of them had spoken since they had arrived. Ender could feel them waiting for him to be the first to talk.

At long last the trees opened like a curtain and revealed the shore. A grey pebbled beach sloped into crystalline azure water, reflecting a glorious array of mountains that surrounded the edges of the lake like the points of a crown. Dink whistled at the view, and Ender smiled. He approached the water, the rocks clacking as his footsteps sent the looser stones tumbling, and bent when he reached it, running his finger through the lapping shoreline. It was cold, too cold to swim in, and the breeze still carried a trace of winter's edge.

Ender shook the water from his hand, then rose and turned to them. They waited in a tight group, watching him.

"Spread out and look for wood," he called. "We'll need the longest logs we can find, and a lot of them."

"What for?" Bernard asked.

"Help me build a raft," Ender answered, and began striding down the beach towards the nearest bunch of driftwood he could see.

They immediately followed his words. Dink and Alai walked the coastline in the other direction, Petra joined Ender, and Bean and Dink crunched back into the forest to search for fallen branches. They brought the suitable logs they could find and piled them on the shore by the path, and Ender examined them to make sure they were long and sturdy enough. After they had gathered a large pile of rugged logs Ender set them to picking the thick grasses that grew in the woods to weave into rope. They worked in silence all the while, as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky and warmed their shoulders and necks.

When they had woven several lengths of rope, they began constructing the raft. They laid out sixteen of logs in a row, then bound sixteen logs to them perpendicularly, eight on top and eight on the bottom, using their woven rope to secure it all in place. Eventually Ender was satisfied. When it was finished, they stood side by side on the shore, laid their hands on the edge of the raft, and as one shoved it out into the water, hopping aboard as the water splashed around their ankles and waves sprayed onto the raft. They spread across it laid down paddled the raft out onto the lake using their hands. It was slow work, and the water chilled their forearms, but Ender plowed onward and no one said a word.

It was a thrill to have a goal again - even if that goal was as simple as getting a raft to the middle of a lake.

Eventually Ender called for them to stop. They had left the shores far behind, and the wind-blown water lightly splashed and surrounded them. The mountains towered to the sky even at this distance, and the sun sparkled on the restless waves. Though they had built the raft as well as Ender could have hoped, it wasn't water-tight by any means – a bit of water seeped up and dampened their clothes when minor swells passed underneath them.

Ender sat cross-legged on the coarse wood, just as he had when he had done on his own little raft when he come here for silence during his leave. The others sat along the edges of the raft to make sure it stayed balanced. The wood creaked, and the lake slopped against and underneath it. A constant wind buffeted them.

"What's up?" Dink asked. Ender looked up. He nodded.

"I need your help." He looked to all of them. They remained motionless. Petra's hair flapped in the wind like a flag. He took a breath. "I found something. Back on Eros."

And he told them everything. How the Queen had been using the mind game to speak to him, that the Formics had been trying to speak to them the whole time; how it had led him to the secret chamber in the ruins; and how he and promised to find them a new home.

No one interrupted while he spoke. They all watched with rapt attention, completely motionless.

When he finished they sat for a long moment, silent.

"Bastards," Dink muttered.

"There's one flaw with your plan," said Alai slowly. "You know what will happen if you try to bring the Formics back."

"The IF will find them and destroy them," Bean finished with a nod. "Remember what Graff said? 'Their very existence is a threat.'"

"I know," Ender said quietly.

"What do you want from us?" Bernard asked, leaning forward where he sat. The raft rocked on the waves as Ender waited, methodically selecting his next words.

"They lied to us. They tricked us. They turned us into killers."

Ender lowered his hands to his lap and clenched them into white-knuckled fists.

"I offer … _revenge._"

He let that hang in the air, looking to each of them in turn. Their eyes narrowed – but no one looked shocked.

"I promised the Queen that I would find them a new home. We _have _to deliver on that promise. We owe them that."

Bernard nodded.

"But to do that…" Dink began slowly.

"We'd have to go public," said Alai, his brow furrowing. "And to do that we'd have to subvert the censors in the media."

"And we'd have to change public opinion about the Formics themselves," Dink added.

"Seventy years of fear and propaganda is hard to counter," said Bernard.

"And to prevent the IF from destroying the new formic civilization, we have to…" Dink breathed, his eyes widening.

"We have to destroy them," Bean growled. "Graff. The Strategos. Even Mazer Rackham."

"Treason," Petra murmured.

Ender's face was impassive.

"Of the highest order," he agreed.

They glanced back and forth amongst each other, conferring without words. Ender waited, watching them. Then they looked back to him in unison.

"We're in," said Bean.

Bernard, Petra, Dink, and Alai all added their assent.

Ender nodded and looked down, his chest swelling with pride.

"We are-" he murmured.

"Dragon," they replied.

EGEGEGEGEGEGEGEG

They sat out on the raft until the sun had fallen into the west and bathed the lake in colors of fire, laying out every facet, every eventuality of their plan. Nothing could go wrong. And nothing could be overlooked. When the sky began to darken, they set to paddling the raft back to the shore to keep from getting caught on the water when night fell.

The raft crunched against the pebbled shore and the five of them hopped off, splashing their sneakers into the edge of the water as they pulled the raft further onto the land to keep it from drifting away. The sun had fallen beyond the horizon and the details of the landscape had begun to fade into shadow.

A blast of light struck them all in the face.

Ender raised a hand, shielding his eyes, as the others let out surprised shouts.

"What the?"

A hundred yards away a pair of blinding headlights cut across the beach. Ender stayed in place, keeping his hand up.

"Is that a car?" Petra asked.

"Who knows we're here, Ender?" Dink asked. Ender's eyes narrowed. He waited.

"Keep calm," he ordered gently.

Something moved. The driver's door opened and a figure emerged. The snap of the door shutting popped against their ears, breaking the silence. The air had gone still after the sun had set.

The figure stepped around the car and into the headlights, striking a long, stretched shadow across the beach. It paused for a moment, then began to stride towards them.

No one moved.

Ender waited.

As the figure approached, details of its silhouette became clear: silver hair. A military unform. An older, slightly hunched bearing.

Ender's heart pummeled against his ribcage and a rock settled in his stomach.

"Colonel Graff," he finally managed.

Graff stopped in front of Ender, looking at the others for a moment, then dropped his eyes to him.

"Ender. It's been a while," he said, his voice gravelly as usual. He nodded to the others. "What brings them here?"

"We came here after Bonzo's funeral," said Petra, her voice soft. Ender could feel their fear pressing against his back. He struggled to manage his heartbeat, to betray nothing in his face, to keep meeting those eyes.

To hide his lust for murder.

"I could ask you the same question," Ender cut in, putting more force into his voice.

"What are you doing out here?" He murmured.

"I don't believe that's any of your concern," Ender shot back, with more edge than he had intended. He clenched his jaw and swallowed, trying to wet his drying throat.

"That's not your call," Graff retorted. He looked over Ender's head at the others. "So; a little Dragon Army reunion, huh?" He dropped his gaze to Ender again. "Why were you out on the lake?"

Ender refused to blink.

"Why are you here?" He snapped.

"I would imagine that, should someone try, it would be very hard to hear what you were saying out there. Even with enhanced listening devices. The wind, and everything. Don't you think, Petra?"

"I-I…" Petra stammered.

"Are you implying something, Colonel?" Ender growled.

"Should I be?"

"Hey _Colonel_," Bean interrupted loudly. Graff snapped his eyes up to him. "I just realized something – Ender here outranks you. Where's his salute?"

The fire in Graff's eyes dimmed. Ender would have laughed if he hadn't been so angry. Graff worked his jaw for a moment, then looked back to Ender and waved a half-salute to him.

"Be careful… Admiral," Graff muttered as his hand dropped.

Ender's eyes flashed.

"Don't pretend I don't know what's going on," he snarled in a low murmur. "You will get in your car, and you will leave."

Graff's expression didn't change. He saluted Ender one more time, accepting the order, then turned and strode away. Ender stood, unmoving, and watched him get into his car and drive away, the wheels crunching on the pebbled shore. Alai, Dink, Bean, Petra, and Bernard came to stand next to him, watching the headlights trail off up the road and into the countryside.

"That- was terrifying," said Petra, letting out a breath.

The others let out similar sighs of relief.

"Bring them on," said Bean.

EGEGEGEGEGEGEGEG

Thanks so much for reading! If you like it, please leave a review! Even if you just say 'I like it,' I always personally answer each one. They're what keep me going – I love hearing what my readers are thinking, and where they think I'll be going next!

-Michael


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